


The Red Arrow

by dumbseok



Category: Pentagon (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Explicit Language, F/M, Homophobic family, M/M, Marriage, Mild Language, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, bi shinwon, gay hwitaek, i'll add something later because i'm not good at this, in-the-closed shinwon, not going to write about them fucking but I'll surely let you know when they're doing it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22254808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dumbseok/pseuds/dumbseok
Summary: Shinwon has a tattoo on his shoulder: like everyone else in the whole world he has to find his own soulmate, the one and only person with a tattoo matching with his one.Except he's already twenty-five and he still hasn't find them yet, so he decided to live in a lie... until something happens.
Relationships: Ko Shinwon/Lee Hwitaek | Hui
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> I know the summary sucks! but I hope some of y'all got curios and decided to click on this story.  
> I should be updating my other story, but,,, what can I say, I've always wanted to write a soulmate AU and something longer than just one chapter about these two, so since I'm almost done with my wooyu here I am.  
> I also have to warn you: I'm not a native speaker, so my English sucks! Plus, I'm a slow writer... sigh

Shinwon wondered maybe for the thousandth time since he went there for the first time why that place was called _gay club_ when not-gay people were allowed to be there too. It was a dumb question of course and he was asking himself that just because of boredom, but a little part of him was also curios: why and when “gay” became the umbrella term for the whole LGBTQA+ community? Why wasn’t everyone calling that place “a bisexual club”? He would’ve felt more represented, since he defined himself bi and not gay, but well…  
He was sitting in his usual place at his club, _The Red Arrow_ (he found that name amusing for personal reasons): a high barstool near the little platform where wannabe artists performed almost every night but also close to the bartender to be sure his glass would never be empty during the night. Shinwon knew that wasn’t going to happen since he was the brother’s owner and everyone working there was always trying to make a good impression on him to be sure he wouldn’t have fired them, since he basically ran that place while his brother only provided money.  
He wore a black pair of jeans, a white shirt, the two buttons near his neck unbuttoned – he considered them unnecessary – and a black leather jacket. He was pretty conscious about himself and he knew he was a beauty, so why don’t dress to improve things? He knew being well dressed doubled the chances of not ending the night alone.  
Being the almost-owner he knew he was biased but that was a good place to be honest. There was the said platform where bands played and sang or occasionally where a dj animated the night, a big space in the middle to dance and tables all around. The place was open to everyone but there were the usual customers who went there almost every night and used to occupy the same tables every time. Shinwon loved to call them _the gangs_ , even if they had nothing to do with the mafia or something like that. When lights were on the black walls could be seen, but that rarely happened, usually lights were almost off. He knew some of the people who went there would’ve never admitted that in the sunlight, so it was best to almost turn off the lights and help them forget.  
The first customers were already entering and sitting but nobody was dancing yet, even if there was a loud music in the club. Shinwon didn’t worry about that, the night was still young.  
An old friend of his was sitting on one of the tables. Shinwon said hi with his hand but didn’t go closer: Hyunggu was able to make everything about gay activism, even a simple night spent there. He was surrounded by people who attended his LGBT center, they were all about accepting themselves, be who you are not being afraid and similar. That wasn’t definitely a place for Shinwon, even if Hyunggu was a good reason to pretend he was interested in their philosophy.  
Shinwon sighed. Pretending to be interested in someone – or actually being that – was useless. It wasn’t like he had any choice on who to fall in love with. He unconsciously touched his left shoulder, where the red arrow tattoo he had since birth was. He had to find the person with the exact same tattoo, his _soulmate_ , like everyone else in the world. The shiver he received from touching that sensitive part of his skin – he knew he was like that for everyone with their tattoo – made him go back to reality.  
The club was now almost full. A lot of people entered while he was immersed in his thoughts.  
A girl approached him. He knew Hyunggu was watching them with disapproval painted on his face, but he couldn’t care less. It wasn’t his or anyone else’s place to judge him and his personal life.  
“Hi Hyejin” he greeted the girl. She was pretty, that night more than ever: her dark skin and her red dress made everyone stop to look at her. Shinwon was so lucky to call her his girlfriend.  
Well, except for the fact she was lesbian.  
“Hi Shinwon” she replied, kissing him on his cheek. “Do you need the house tonight?”  
Shinwon laughed. She was talking about the place where they lived and used to bring their one-night stands. Better, his one-night stands. She had a long romantic relationship with one of her coworkers – their tattoo matched – but she wasn’t planning to reveal that to her family, so they reached the agreement to cover each other’s backs in front of their families.  
“I always need the house, you know that” he replied.  
Hyejin rolled her eyes but couldn’t help to smile. “You’ll use the sofa this time. It’s not like you have to impress them, they never come to our house twice”.  
“At least I give them the memory of the best night of their lives. I can’t do that on a sofa, what am I, a twelve years old boy who just discovered what he has in his pants?”  
“I don’t care. Seojun is coming back tonight and I have to properly greet her”.  
Shinwon didn’t reply, letting her win their little fight. He didn’t want to oppose further and ruin the night for her. It wasn’t like he had an important person to bring home that night, so it was useless to make a fuss out of it.  
“Oh, before I forget: no highkeys on your shoulder. We have dinner with my parents tomorrow and you know how much they _love_ to look at our matching tattoos on our shoulders” Shinwon asked her.  
Hyejin eye-rolled again. “It’s not like you’ll have to freeze wearing a revealing dress to please them but FINE, master. My skin will be apparently untouched for you to please your parents tomorrow”.  
“Thank you” he whispered, but he was sure she didn’t hear him. Hyejin was already leaving to go to her girlfriend.

***

It was almost one in the morning and Shinwon was still alone. Meeting with Hyejin affected his mood, even if he didn’t want to admit it. He was _jealous_ of her. Seeing her made him lose interest in the night and in everyone who could’ve met.  
She chose to hide like him, so she had some of his problems too, like pretending to be in a het fake relationship, everyone asking when they were going to marry and have children and things like that. But Shinwon was sure she could bear with all of that knowing someone who truly loved her was always waiting for her.  
What about him? He was almost twenty-five and still alone. That was why he chose to fake he found his soulmate. He couldn’t think of letting his parents down, not when both his brothers were already married.  
Lost in his thoughts he barely noticed someone was talking to him, poking his shoulder.  
“Ehi” the guy repeated “I wanted to let you know you’re really pretty, but I’ll go if you’re not in the mood”.  
Shinwon smiled. Being sad was useless after all. “Well, thanks for stating a fact everyone can see with their own eyes”.  
The other guy laughed. “I’m not used to people being so confident about themselves”.  
“Modesty is an hypocrisy” Shinwon stated, turning on his seat to look at the other boy. His hair were dyed with a weird light orange / pink color, but that made him look soft. He was wearing a black and white jacket with pretty flowers on the white part of it, confirming he was a soft boy.  
“I see you have strong ideas” the other replied, biting his lower lip out of nervousness. Shinwon found that pretty interesting.  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to scare you. Anyway, why don’t you sit and drink something?”.  
The boy looked around, shyly. “Well, every seat is taken”.  
Shinwon was about to suggest his own legs as a seat – the more he looked at him, the more he found him attractive – but he realized he couldn’t be so bold not even after five minutes of knowing him, so he snapped his fingers while looking at the girl sitting on the barstool near his.  
“This seat is taken. Go find yourself another place” he demanded.  
The girl was about to reply but then she saw who was talking and went away without saying anything.  
The boy sat on it, a little bit confused. “I didn’t want to bother her…”  
“C’mon, don’t think about it. What do you drink?” Shinwon interrupted him.  
“Well, a Cola?” the other asked.  
Shinwon laughed looking at the bartender. “Well, you heard him. A Cola for my boy and another round for me”.  
The boy beside the counter almost ran to give them what they ordered.  
“You can handle alcohol very well” the boy said looking at Shinwon.  
Shinwon smiled but didn’t reply.  
“Anyway, I just realized I’m not being very polite! My name is Hwitaek” the other said.  
“I was just wondering why didn’t you introduce yourself to be honest. I was starting to be afraid of the fact we might already be knowing each other and I was forgetting about it”. Shinwon was faking it: he was pretty sure he wouldn’t have been able to forget a face like his.  
“Don’t worry” the other laughed “do I have to apologize for my manners?”  
Shinwon laughed too. “That won’t be needed. I’m Shinwon by the way”.  
Hwitaek opened his mouth, surprised. “Oh, so you’re _the_ Shinwon, don’t you? That explains a lot”.  
Shinwon nodded. “Well, I’m _the_ Shinwon, like you said. Do I have to assume my popularity precedes me?”  
“You can say that, yes”.  
“What did you hear about me?” he asked, curious about what people told about him.  
Hwitaek looked at his glass with a careful look. He felt like he was back at his university days while doing an exam. “Well, I heard you’re the owner” he replied after a while.  
“Almost correct” Shinwon replied, taking a shot of the brown liquor in his glass.  
“Wait, does this mean I’ll be banned from the club if I don’t… _amuse_ you tonight?” Hwitaek asked, looking sincerely concerned.  
Shinwon laughed. “Relax, boy scout. If that was a reason to be banned from my club this place would be empty now”.  
Hwitaek didn’t reply and drank a bit of his Cola. Did Shinwon realize that wasn’t reassuring at all? Or maybe he did it on purpose?  
“Don’t be shy, go on. What else did you hear about me?” Shinwon pressured him.  
Hwitaek blushed. “Well, I heard you’re an exceptional… _lover_ ”.  
Shinwon smirked and took his hand. “Unlucky for you, I can’t go to my house tonight. But I have a quiet place upstairs…”  
“What are proposing me?” Hwitaek asked after finishing his Cola.  
“To be the judge of that _exceptional_. Who knows, you might find me _mind-blowing_ … _astonishing_ …”  


***

When Shinwon woke up the day after he knew something was wrong.  
First of all he forgot to close all the doors of the apartment and now he had the sunlight right in his face, not letting him sleep.  
Second thing, the boy was still in his bed. He couldn’t understand how that was possible. You don’t sleep with someone you fucked just for fun.  
Anyway he was awake now and couldn’t sleep, so he decided to investigate. Maybe he stayed for a second round?  
Hwitaek was sleeping on his right side, so Shinwon could see his back white skin. He started kissing him at the back of his neck to wake him up. He probably reached his purpose since he heard the other moaning a little.  
Shinwon felt impatient all of a sudden, so he turned Hwitaek on his back to look at his face and go straight to the point – _straight_ wasn’t the right word since they intended to do something not so straight, but well, English is a funny language.  
When Hwitaek turned on his back Shinwon saw something that terrified him, freezing him in one second. Hwitaek was looking at him, obviously horny, his mouth open letting escape some moans, and a red arrow tattoo on his shoulder.


	2. II.

Shinwon's first instinct was to start yelling in horror, but the rational part of him prevailed on the others, so he just stood up and covered himself to prevent the other from seeing their matching tattoos.   
"I must ask you to leave" he said with a cold, calm tone.  
Hwitaek looked confuse. He was about to have his best breakfast ever but suddenly he was about to be kicked out of bed? With no reason at all?  
"Did I do something wrong?" Hwitaek asked, concerned.  
"I must ask you to go and never talk about ... this" Shinwon repeated.  
Hwitaek was more confused than before, but having sex together it's not like knowing someone, so he realized he couldn't just ask the other to talk to him sincerely.   
He just picked his things from the floor and left without even dressing before.  
Shinwon sat on his bed. He felt empty, he felt like there was no more oxygen left in the room. His mind was about to going crazy. It was like he had no thoughts at all about what just happened to him, but on the other side there was this part of his brain which was already trying to figure things out. What was he going to do? Break his deal with Hyejin, tell his family, his closed-mind family, his soulmate was a boy?  
To be honest he never imagined himself ending up with a boy. He thought as himself as a lucky person since he knew he liked - purely on the sexual plan - people ofevery gender, so it wasn't _that_ type of problem (he knew people who thought they were attracted to people of different genders before ending up being soulmate with a same gender person, so they had to go through all the accepting-themselves process before becoming a real couple) but he had always imagined himself ending up with a girl. He knew it wasn't totally his fault, since his parents had always underlined, during his teens, what they were expecting from him, and of course expectations on him became higher when both his brothers married to two girls and they both gave the Ko clan two heirs.  
What was he going to do now?  


***  


"You look terrible" it was the first thing Hyejin said when she met with Shinwon before going dining with his family.  
He didn't reply because he knew she was right. Considering what that day he had discovered about himself he couldn't manage to sleep again, so he had black circles around his eyes. He also suspected the smell of the alcohol he drank before going meet Hyejin with his car in front of "their" house could be still be sniffed, even under the expensive perfume he used on himself before leaving the room above the club. He was wearing a black suit like he was the CEO of a great company to respect his parents’ dress code, but he knew his façade wouldn’t have fooled anyone.  
On the other hand, Hyejin was stunning. She was wearing a long tight black dress which made her look like Morticia Addams. Her fake tattoo was of course showing. She didn't look like she just spent the night 'having fun'.  
Even if their relationship wasn't real they were good friends and they used to talk about a lot of things, even their deepest secret (of course... you don't ask to be your fake girlfriend to a random girl). Shinwon considered her his closest friend since high school, maybe his best one, so, just for a moment, he considered confiding what that morning had happened to him, but he couldn't do it. He never said to Hyejin their deal was principally existing because of his parents homophobia - well, at least not out loud, but of course she knew by now, after years of being really close to each other and after attending a lot of family gatherings.  
Also, he knew Hyejin very well, she surely was going to suggest to not ignore that boy, he wasn’t ready to do it.  
"I hope you'll be a little more cheerful when we'll be to your parents' house or your mom will scold me for not being the perfect wife or whatever" Hyejin said a few seconds before entering the park which surrounded their manor. Other two cars were parked there: his brothers were already there.  
"Perfect" Shinwon murmured to himself. He surely didn't need to see their happy families all gathered there.  


***  


That dinner wasn't going like always. They usually went by an established order: Shinwon's dad started the evening with a boring speech about the good old times, when their family ruled the city like they where the Waynes and their city was Gotham. Then, it was his wife’s turn, which would’ve jokingly interrupted him to announce the staff was going to serve them dinner - the most expensive meat and wine ever to exist. In that moment, taking advantage of everyone’s mind focused on the food, she would ask them indelicate questions about their life - when do you plan to marry your girlfriend Shinwon, when a third nephew is going to arrive, things like that, which usually made them feel like they left their parents' elegant, fancy house years ago, but not even actual miles between them and the manor would be able to make them feel safe from their mom' plans about their future.  
Yes, Shinwon's family was a living stereotype: servants were there to do all the works for them, upholstery and ancient furnitures making the atmosphere elegant, posh, but maybe not even one of their sons used to be really happy there.  
Anyway that night Shinwon was shaking things up. He was a lil bit drunk and basically every attempt of conversation was being interrupted by him making silly jokes.   
Everyone looked at him looking annoyed and a bit disgusted. You could clearly have read on their face "this isn't the appropriate Ko behavior", but nobody seemed like they were going to make him stop.  
"You're so bright tonight, Shinwon" his mom told him after a while, trying to calm him down "did something really good happen?"  
Shinwon laughed. "Does something perfect need to happen in my life? I already have everything! I'm rich, I run a club which allow me to do the fuck I want, and I'm going to marry my beautiful girlfriend soon!"  
Everyone clapped, his parents stood up to congratulate them (an exhausted “Finally” left his mom’s lips), his brothers and their wives started singing something he really couldn't understand, but he knew they were cheering for him.  
Everyone was happy, except, of course, Hyejin. Nobody noticed the homicidal look she had fixated on Shinwon, and of course she tried to hide it celebrating the happy event too.  
The mood totally changed when dinner was over and the two of them left the house and went to their car, Shinwon a little unstable on his feet. He was still cheerful and completely drunk after at least ten toasts in their honor, so Hyejin had no choice to help him walk and then sit at the driver' seat. He couldn't drive if they wanted to come back home alive.  
"I am allowed to ask you what the fuck do you have in mind?" she asked pissed when Shinwon finally sat at his place, still waving at his younger brother.  
"Smile, Hyejin, we are going to be married to be soon!" he replied cupping her cheeks.  
She coughed, disgusted by the smell of alcohol. "You never told me we were going to go so far!"  
"What were you expecting? We're faking to be soulmate, we can't play the happy couple with no responsibilities forever!"  
"That's exactly what we decided to do! And why did you make this decision all by yourself, why didn't you ask for consent to me first, why did you do all this all of a sudden!" Hyejin yelled.  
Shinwon looked at her nervously. He noticed his brother was still in his car, looking at them, maybe trying to listen to them.  
"If you want to yell at me at least don't do that here."  
"Why? So everyone can believe in your façade?" she asked while starting the car and leaving.  
"I'm not in the mood for arguing" he replied tired, gently caressing his head "I think I drank too much."  
"You're not in the mood for discussing about our marriage? I'm going to kill you, Shinwon. Wait until we're home."  
"I'm not coming with you, I have to go to the club" he said whining.  
"Does it look like I care?" she asked, driving to their house.  
“Any discussion between us with me in this state of mind can’t be of any help, Hyejin. Please, take me to the club”.  
The girl looked at him with pity. “Tomorrow we’re going to have a long, long talk about this, I hope you know that” she said finally.  
“Thanks for not killing me! I would kiss you now but you’re a lesbian!”  


***

Half an hour later he was sitting at his usual place. His glass was empty of course. He wasn’t at the bar to drink, he was waiting for someone to come back.  
After sitting for so long he started to believe the boy – Hwitaek – was never going to come to his club again. Why did he kick him so harshly out of bed that morning?  
If legends were true, after having sex with your soulmate nobody would’ve been able to make you feel the same, so he wasn’t going to search for someone else to spend the night with. It had to be him.  
He almost sighed in relief when he saw him talking with Hyunggu. They were near the bathrooms, so at least nobody was going to see him praying some random guy to give him attention.  
“Hey” he almost yelled, control completely lost on his voice. Both Hyunggu and Hwitaek turned to look at him.  
Hyunggu laughed seeing him like that – his suit and tie were completely messy – while Hwitaek seemed nervous and bit his lower lip.  
“Should I go?” he asked when he saw Shinwon looking at him without saying anything.  
Hyunggu raised an eyebrow, noticing something he really didn’t understand was in the air. “No, I think _I_ should be the one leaving” he said before going back to his table.  
“Look, I’m not here to cause trouble. I thought it was fine-“ Hwitaek started justifying himself, but Shinwon interrupted him by taking his hand.  
“Please, come with me” the older said.  
“Are you going to beat me?” the other asked.  
Shinwon laughed. “Do people who beats you up take your hand first and ask for your permission?”  


***  


There was a legend about the skin under the matching tattoos soulmates had. Apparently, if that spot was touched by your soulmate you would’ve feel an indescribable pleasure. Considering the moanings escaping Hwitaek’s lips while Shinwon kissed it, legends were true. At least now he knew it wasn’t something totally made up by people to make him feel jealous.  
They were lying down in Shinwon’s bed, him over Hwitaek, kissing his tattoos and his collarbone. Hwitaek’s chest was bare, while Shinwon was still wearing even his tie.  
“Stop” Hwitaek murmured after a while. The other ignored him, thinking he was just overwhelmed by pleasure, but then he repeated the word, so Shinwon stopped.  
“Did I do something wrong?” he asked, caressing the other’s lips.  
“Please, stay still, or I won’t be able to ask you two questions.”  
Shinwon smirked. “Why talking when we could be doing so much more interesting things?”  
Hwitaek stood up. “I will do a lot of interesting things to you if you just reply to the following questions: one, what did I do wrong this morning? Two, can I see your tattoo?”  
Shinwon stood up too, irritated. “Why can’t you just have some good dick and shut up?”  
“Let me see your tattoo or I swear to God I’m going to leave this room and you’ll never see me again” Hwitaek replied looking him straight in the eyes. “I know what they say about tattoos being touched by your soulmate, so let me see yours”.  
“Am I that good you want me to be yours?” Shinwon mocked him, laughing.  
Hwitaek picked his shirt from the floor and started wearing it.  
“Why can’t we just share good moments without making it more meaningful than it is?” Shinwon tried, but the other boy was clearly not listening, already heading to the door.  
“Wait!” Shinwon yelled at the end. He thought about how empty he felt in morning and how desperate he felt when he thought he wasn’t going to come back to his club. He didn’t want to feel like that ever again.  
Hwitaek froze and turned again looking at him, listening to what he had to say.  
“I’ll undress for you if that’s what you want” Shinwon said, nervous. He knew there was no coming back.  
His fingers were trembling, so he left the tie were it was – he hoped Hwitaek was going to appreciate it – and started unbuttoning his shirt, failing.  
“Can I have a little help?” he asked, his voice shaking.  
Hwitaek was dying of impatience, so he stood up and unbuttoned the first buttons of the shirts, then proceed to remove it from his left shoulder as soon as he could.   
Revealing his red arrow tattoo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before leaving: first of all, I hope y'all enjoyed!! Also I know I didn't update any of my fic since the first part of 2020, it was like I couldn't write not even a word, even having a lot of ideas in my mind!  
> Please let me know if there are any mistakes!  
> Also, search for this link in your browser to have some good 201019 ko shinwon ( https://twitter.com/strayptg/status/1318098338449920000 ) and don't thank me!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed this!! Idk if someone is interested but I plan to write something about Hyunggu in this same universe. I still haven't decided if it'll be an extra, a sequel, a cross-over, IDK, but let me know if you're interested!!  
> Please DM me with anything you have to say about this first chapter on twitter, I'm @thvmbsvptg  
> That said, see ya next time!


End file.
